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This is who benefits from St. Paul's Lights of Hope

The annual fundraiser doesn't just brighten Vancouver's dark nights

 One of the gold stars on this year's Lights of Hope display is in memory of Christine Chuk, a laboratory technologist at the hospital who was killed in a car accident in April 2017.One of the gold stars on this year’s Lights of Hope display is in memory of Christine Chuk, a laboratory technologist at the hospital who was killed in a car accident in April 2017. Photograph By MARTHA PERKINS

Kidney patients who spend hours hooked up to a dialysis machine and a support group called the DUDES Club will all be feeling a bit more hopeful in 2018.

They are among the beneficiaries of the $3.1 million raised by St. Paul’s Lights of Hope.

The annual fundraiser, which sees the front Burrard Street hospital draped in thousands of festive lights, helps the hospital’s foundation pay for much needed projects at all Providence Health Care facilities in Vancouver.

Funds raised this year will go to:

• quality-of-life programs such as a therapeutic art cart to help dialysis patients while away the hours, as well as an art studio and art supplies for residents of St. Vincent’s: Brock Fahrni;

• urgently needed medical equipment and technology, ranging from advanced imaging equipment to seemingly simple yet no less valuable devices;

• research efforts that can have local, national and global impact, and ensure the benefits of research translate quickly into better patient care; and

• community projects such as the Downtown Urban Knights Defending Equality and Solidarity support group for men in the DTES who have lost contact with healthcare system due to substance abuse.

People have until January 8 to see the lights display.

Read more from the Vancouver Courier